“I want to move here so that I can run away from the hot weather,” he adds.

Monuments made of ice at the Harbin Ice Wonderland.

Across the notoriously sweltering metropolis, locals are flocking to a growing number of attractions offering Thais the chance to experience something few ever witness at home -- snow and ice.

While foreigners head in droves to the now military-run nation to soak up the sun on palm-fringed beaches, many of those visiting the Harbin Ice Wonderland on the outskirts of Bangkok are looking for the exact opposite.

More than 600 tonnes of ice have been used to create a smorgasbord of sculptures ranging from colourful octopuses to a mock Eiffel Tower.

Named after the northeastern Chinese city that holds an annual ice sculpture festival, temperatures inside the frozen Thai version are kept at minus 15 Celsius (five Fahrenheit), a whopping 50 C swing from the sticky Bangkok streets outside.

It is just one of a number attractions that have sprung up in Thailand with an icy theme.

Many malls and attractions now offer ice skating rinks and winter wonderlands filled with artificially created snow.

While foreigners love Thailand for its year-round warmth and the chance to top up their tans, the tropical sun is often a bane to Thais in a culture where pale skin is prized, especially on women.

Locals routinely carry umbrellas on sunny days to protect themselves from the harsh rays and it is not unusual to spot Thais dressed in long sleeves and wide-brimmed hats during trips to the beach.